Figgy pudding is a type of Christmas pudding which was originally made with figs.[1] It may be baked, steamed in the oven, boiled or fried.[2]

Figgy pudding dates back to 16th century England.[1] Its possible ancestors include savoury puddings, such as crustades, fygeye or figge (a potage of mashed figs thickened with bread), creme boiled (a kind of stirred custard), and sippets (croutons).[3] In any case, its methods and ingredients appear in diverse older recipes, for instance in Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.[1]

Today, the term figgy pudding is popularised mainly by the Christmas carol "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," which includes the lines, "Now bring us some figgy pudding".[4] A variety of nineteenth-century sources state that, in the West Country of England (from which the carol comes), "figgy pudding" referred to a raisin or plum pudding, not necessarily one containing figs.[5][6][7]

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